[sebhc] H8 tapes for Dave - archiving tapes?

[Dave Dunfield]

At 07:16 13/04/2004 -0500, you wrote:
>> Hi, I've recently acquired a Heathkit H8, however I did not 
>> receive the original software. I do have documentation for 
>> the following packages, which all appear to be original 
>> Heathkit distributions on cassette tape:
>> 
>>    BUG-8 Console Debugger
>>    TED-8 Text Editor
>>    HASL-8 Assembly Language package
>>    Benton Harbor BASIC / Extended Benton Harbor BASIC
>> 
>> I'm looking for copies of the software. I'd love to obtain 
>> original Heathkit tapes, however I would be happy just to 
>> obtain the binaries or even audio recordings of the tapes.
>
>Dave, I've got some (vintage) copies I can send you - please send me a
>mailing address (on or offlist) and I'll put them in the mail when the
>tax crazies get out of the post office. I've tried to read one or two of
>the tapes that came with this batch - there is definitely a signal on
>the tape but the adhesive that holds the tape on the spindle is dried up
>and the tapes just flop off the end. They can be easily repaired with a
>little Scotch tape. 
>
>My tape card (H8-5) didn't seem to react at all and I shelved the
>project for other things; I'd be interested in your ideas about
>preserving the info on the tapes - I've saved .wav files of various
>other tapes (SWTPc and ProcTech) but I've never had the means or need to
>try to retrieve the info.
>
>Input from anyone else on best practices for audio tape archiving would
>be appreciated.

Hi Jack,

That would be great thanks! - I don't mind repairing the tapes at all.

My intention is to record them to CD for long-term archive, and I would be
happy to send you a copy of the CD once I get that done. I can also make
digital recordings available to others who might be looking for this material.

You can probably turn your .WAV files into a CD with any of the home audio
recording packages, and then play them out of a CD deck. You can probably
also play them straight out of a computer, although you might need an older
sound card with built in amplifier (SB-16?) or use a small external amplifier
to get the levels required for the input to the tape interface.

I've sent you my address off-list. Please let me know if it does not show up.

Regards,
-- 
dave04a (at)    Dave Dunfield
dunfield (dot)  Firmware development services & tools: www.dunfield.com
com             Vintage computing equipment collector.

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